Truths You Can Use

Truths You Can Use Archives

A Jewish wedding ceremony ends with an strange ritual. The groom lifts his foot up and breaks a wine glass. Why? Because even at great times of joy, we recognize that brokenness is a part of life. In fact, we […]

Life rains down on all of us. We experience loss, sadness, frustration, difficult times, goals missed, dreams disappointed. We go through broken relationships, betrayals, trust misplaced, loved ones hurt. Yet, while the rain can drown us, it can also strengthen […]

Will God Condemn Brittany Maynard for Choosing to Die? On the most sacred Jewish holiday of the year--Yom Kippur--we literally imagine our own funeral. Men traditional wear a white sash that will also serve as their burial shroud. The purpose is to picture our own death in a way that helps us live ...

The Strange Book of the Bible We Read in SukkotTonight begins the Jewish “Festival of Tabernacles.” Known in Hebrew as Sukkot, we spend time in temporary outdoor dwellings.
They remind us of the fragility of life our ancestors experienced during their journey across the Sinai ...

Is 75 the Perfect Age to Die? Dr. Ezekiel Emauel, the well-known bioethicist and brother of the mayor of my town, argued recently in an essay in the Atlantic Monthly that 75 is the perfect age to die. After that, he said, most people have little to contribute to society and ...

Yom Kippur: The Happiest Day of the YearYom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It is filled with solemn prayer, and most Jews fast. How, then, can it be the happiest day of the year? Allow me to explain...
Picture the scene: It is 1944, in Glasgow, Scotland, in ...